The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (165 page)

THEOLOGY

Theological Themes

The Relationship Between Faith and Works
James 2:14—26 is often interpreted as a repudiation of Paul's doctrine of salvation through faith alone (see Rom 3:28; Gal 2:15-16; Eph 2:8—9). Three views have appeared in the scholarly literature: (1) James disagreed with Paul and was seeking to correct him (or vice versa).
⁸⁷
(2) James corrected a misunderstanding of Paul.
⁸⁸
(3) James and Paul addressed two related but distinct issues.
⁸⁹

At the very outset, the caution seems appropriate not to involve James and Paul in a necessary contradiction. Whether James sought to address Paul's teaching in the present context will never be known with certainty. The doctrine of justification by faith is found elsewhere in the NT and is not limited to Paul (e.g., Heb 11:7; 1 Pet 1:3—7). Paul's own contention was that the Jerusalem apostles had heard his gospel and offered him the right hand of fellowship—James included (Gal 2:9).

Taken on his own merits, James contrasted the passing with the concrete. The former does not affect the world, while the latter does. Thus a needy brother who is offered only an encouraging word has encountered the ephemeral. But one who has his needs met has encountered the concrete; the former is helpful, while the latter is not. Likewise, faith apart from works is like the ephemeral word—it accomplishes nothing and fails to produce authentic salvation.

Something to Think About: Do You and I Walk Our Talk?

T
here are, in the end, only two kinds of people: people who do what they say and those who don't. Do you and I walk our talk? Jesus called the latter group of people “hypocrites,” playactors who wore a mask that hid the true self underneath. God desires that we be genuine, unhypocritical, and real
—
the same on the inside as we are on the outside.

This is easier said than done. Only by the grace of God can we be the kinds of people God wants us to be. Yet follow through is of critical importance, as James, the half brother of Jesus, told his readers:

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror; for he looks at himself, goes away, and right away forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who acts
—
this person will be blessed in what he does (1:22-25).

As far as we know, James did not become a believer in Jesus until after the resurrection. But doubtless he was familiar with Jesus' similar words in the Sermon on the Mount: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one
who does the will of My Father in heaven”
(Matt 7:21, emphasis added). Let us be careful, therefore, to be doers of the word and not hearers only. Let us not merely
study
the Bible but
do what it says.

As an example of one whose life did not match his words, consider Karl Marx. Marx, the founder of communism, was born into a Jewish family, but his family later became Lutheran. Marx was baptized at age six and confirmed at 15. But Marx showed absolutely no fruit of the Christian faith. To the contrary Marx's life abounded with hypocrisy and self-contradiction. He, the self-proclaimed advocate of the working class, knew virtually no workers personally and did not pay the one servant that he had. Rather than work with his own hands, he lived off his inheritance and family money. His mother lamented that perhaps he should accrue some capital of his own by working rather than simply writing about it. How pitiful!

When contemplating the outcome of Karl Marx's life and of others like him, we should say, “There, but by the grace of God, go I.” But we should also aim to thrust ourselves upon Christ and exclaim with Paul, “What a wretched man I am!” (Rom 7:24). Then we can live our lives fully in the strength supplied by God
—
”I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13)
—
and do our best to “walk our talk,” to the glory and praise of God.

In this sense Abraham was “justified by his works.”
⁹⁰
In the same way, people today show their faith by their works.
⁹¹
Most likely, therefore, James and Paul do not stand in actual conflict with one another in their teaching on the relationship between faith and works.

Table 17.2: Faith and Works: Comparing James and Paul

The person James describes is all too familiar. That person claims to have faith, and to an extent he believes all the right things about God, Jesus, and salvation. But his faith is not lived out in his daily life. It is this kind of faith that James condemns; faith without works is useless. It neither sanctifies nor saves. Saving faith—or, as James put it, faith accompanied by works—is “faith that works” in that it radically affects the way a person lives.

Wisdom and Ethics
Apart from his treatment of faith and works, James is perhaps best known for his strong ethical teaching in keeping with Jewish wisdom. James's entire letter is pervaded by an emphasis on the need to deal with practical aspects of the Christian life in a godly and wise manner. This includes dealing with trials and temptations (1:2—18); helping those in need, such as widows and orphans, as an expression of a practical form of Christianity that refuses to divorce faith from works (1:19—27; see 2:14—26); avoiding to give preferential treatment to those of a higher socioeconomic status in society (2:1—13); controlling one's speech (3:1—12); cultivating wisdom and understanding in a variety of good works (3:13—18); adopting an attitude of humility in one's dealings with others and in the way one goes about one's business (4:1—17); and many other practical, ethical matters (chap. 5).

James's ethical teaching is firmly grounded in the teaching of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount.
⁹²
James is also deeply embedded in the ethical teachings of the OT, especially in wisdom literature and here particularly in Proverbs (e.g.,
4:4
citing Prov 3:34). This shows the significant continuity in ethical thought between the OT, Jesus, and the NT (such as the book of James). Christians are believers in Jesus, the “glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (2:1), and they do not leave behind the ethical and moral grounding of biblical
revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures. Instead, they continue to engage in conduct consistent with wise living, justice, humility, love, and mercy. This is summed up memorably in the well-known words of the prophet Micah: “He has told you…what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you…to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6:8).
⁹³

Jewish Christian Christology and Eschatology
In keeping with its Jewish Christian nature, the book of James refers to distinctly Christian themes explicitly less frequently than other NT writings. In particular, many interpreters find it significant that James only mentions the name of Christ twice (1:1; 2:1).
⁹⁴
While infrequent, however, these references are highly significant, especially in light of the fact that the term “Christ” is equivalent to the Hebrew “Messiah.” Hence James identified Jesus as the embodiment of the hope of Israel, as the messianic King.

Like most Jews of his day, James was a committed monotheist (see 2:19; 4:11). Yet despite the paucity of James's references to Christ, his Christology is quite high. The term “Lord”
(kurios)
was a term pregnant with meaning among Greek-speaking Jews. It was the word used in the LXX to translate the
tetragrammaton
(YHWH, “LORD”). Notably, James employed the term
kurios
interchangeably between God and Jesus (for the former, see 1:8,12; for the latter, see 1:1; 2:1; 5:7-8).

Not only is Jesus “Lord̶; he is “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (2:1). In a Jewish context, this immediately recalls the glorious presence of God in the OT (e.g., Exod 33:18—19; 1 Kgs 8:11). At the outset of James's discussion of the sin of partiality (2:1—13), he spoke of Christ as “glorious,” which brings to mind OT passages asserting that God refuses to share his glory with another (e.g., Isa 42:8). That Jesus is described in this way reflects an exceedingly high Christology on James's part.

James also mentioned that there is only one judge (4:11)—an obvious reference to God—but Jesus also has the role of divine judge (5:7,9).
⁹⁵
Thus James applied titles, attributes, and roles to Jesus that belong indisputably to God. James's Christology is undergirded by a firm commitment to the deity of Christ. What is more, not only did James hold to Jesus' messianic identity and divine nature; he also evinced the expectation of Jesus' return at the end of time.

In fact, James' Christology is strongly eschatological. Jesus is not only Lord; he is the
coming Lord
(5:7). This is consistent with James's teaching regarding the end time throughout the letter. In particular, he made clear that there will be a future day of reckoning and judgment (1:10—11; 2:12-13; 3:1; 5:1-6,9,12) and warned his readers that this life will inevitably culminate with Jesus' glorious return. Thus believers must conduct their lives in the light of Christ's coming.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE CANON

• An exemplar of early Jewish Christianity written by James, the half brother of Jesus (1:1)
  
• The relationship between faith and works (2:14—26)
  
• The need for wisdom in the Christian life (1:5; 3:13-18)
  
• Practical exhortations related to dealing with the rich (1:9-11; 2:1-13; 5:1-6), controlling one's tongue (3:1—12), humility in planning (4:13—17), and other matters
  
• The abiding examples of OT men of faith such as Job or Elijah (5:11,17)
  

STUDY QUESTIONS

1. Which James was the author of the book of James, and which other two persons named James are less likely candidates?
   
2. Between what two dates was James likely written, and why?
   
3. Where was James most likely written and to whom?
   
4. What is the likely occasion for James?
   
5. What is the genre of James?
   
6. In what ways is the genre of James similar to that of Hebrews and 1 John?
   
7. Why do you think there is little consensus today about the structure of James?
   
8. According to the authors, what is the most likely structure of James?
   
9. Why is James 2:14—26 controversial?
   
10. What are three scholarly views of James 2:14—26?
    
11. In what ways do Paul and James agree on faith and works?
    
12. How does James contribute to the canon?
    

FOR FURTHER STUDY

Bauckham, R.
James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage.
New Testament Readings. New York/London: Routledge, 1999.

__________
. Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church.
Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1990.

Chilton, B., and C. A. Evans, eds.
James the Just and Christian Origins.
Novum Testamentum Supplement 98. Leiden: Brill, 1999.

Chilton, B., and J. Neusner, eds.
The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001.

Davids, P. H.
The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text.
New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Guthrie, G. H. “James.” Pages 197—273 in
The Expositor's Bible Commentary.
Rev. ed. Vol. 13:
Hebrews-Revelation.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Johnson, L. T.
The Letter of James.
Anchor Bible 37A. New York: Doubleday, 1995.

Laato, T. “Justification According to James: A Comparison with Paul.”
Trinity Journal 18
(1997): 47—61.

Laws, S.
A Commentary on the Epistle of James.
Harper's New Testament Commentary. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1980.

Martin, R. P
. James.
Word Biblical Commentary 48. Waco: Word, 1988.

Maynard-Reid, P. V.
Poverty and Wealth in James.
Maryknoll: Orbis, 1987.

Moo, D. J.
The Letter of James.
Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

___________.
The Letter of James.
Tyndale New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985.

Painter, J.
Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition.
Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997.

Richardson, K.
James.
New American Commentary. Nashville: B&H, 1997.

Shanks, H., and B. Witherington III.
The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family.
New York: HarperCollins, 2003.

¹
E.g., P.-A.
Bernheim, James Brother of Jesus
, trans. J. Bowden (London: SCM, 1997); J. Painter,
Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition
(Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1997); R. Eisenman, James
the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls
(New York: Viking, 1997); B. Chilton and C. A. Evans, eds.,
James the Just and Christian Origins
(Leiden: Brill, 1999); B. Chilton and J. Neusner, eds.,
The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001); and H. Shanks and B. Witherington III,
The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family
(New York: HarperCollins, 2003).